India showcases AI-powered healthcare innovations at India AI Impact Summit 2026
NEW DELHI: Over the past decade, India’s health system has transitioned from basic digitisation of records and improved data reporting to building a nationally interoperable digital health ecosystem, said Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Monday.
“AI has the potential to reduce the burden on the healthcare workforce while strengthening - not replacing - the physician-patient relationship,” said Srivastava at a panel discussion on “Scaling AI for Public Health Impact: Public-Private Partnership” as part of the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Citing examples, she referred to MadhuNetrAI for AI-based diabetic retinopathy screening, AI-enabled handheld X-rays and acoustic screening tools such as Cough Against TB (CA-TB) for tuberculosis detection, and AI-integrated surveillance systems for faster epidemic alerts.
She highlighted the establishment of Centres of Excellence for AI in healthcare at AIIMS, Delhi, PGIMER, Chandigarh, and AIIMS, Rishikesh.
She said the National Health Policy set the vision of achieving the highest attainable standard of health and well-being for all citizens, which was further operationalised through the National Digital Health Blueprint by promoting open standards, interoperability, privacy-by-design, and the adoption of emerging technologies including Generative AI.
The health secretary highlighted that the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has evolved into a robust digital public infrastructure for health, with over 859 million ABHA accounts linked to more than 878 million health records.
With more than 1.80 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs operational across the country, digital platforms are being integrated at the primary care level.
E-Sanjeevani, powered by AI-assisted Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS), has enabled over 449 million teleconsultations through more than 2.2 lakh registered healthcare providers, making it the world’s largest telemedicine initiative in primary healthcare, she said.
She emphasised that digital systems enabled the capture and transmission of information while AI enables its intelligent interpretation and action.
Stressing the importance of collaboration, the Union Health Secretary invited industry and state representatives to share their experiences on working with government systems, improving procurement and data frameworks, and identifying AI solutions most useful in field settings.
She underscored that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s emphasis on digital public infrastructure as a tool for inclusion and equity continues to guide its digital health and AI journey, aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
Addressing the event, Dr. Sunil Kumar Barnwal, CEO, National Health Authority, stated that Artificial Intelligence can significantly enhance efficiency in healthcare delivery and enable faster, data-driven decision-making, particularly in large-scale public health programmes.
He emphasised that AI-powered analytics can strengthen beneficiary identification, streamline claims management, detect fraud, and monitor service utilisation, thereby improving transparency, accountability, and overall system performance.
He underscored the importance of building interoperable digital platforms supported by strong data governance and privacy safeguards to ensure responsible deployment of AI solutions.
Highlighting the scale and complexity of national health schemes, he noted that technology-driven innovations are essential to optimise resource allocation, improve targeting of services, and achieve better health outcomes across the country.
The event brought together representatives from government, industry, multilateral organizations, and the start-up ecosystem to deliberate on scaling AI innovations for public health impact.
Discussions focused on leveraging AI for predictive analytics, early disease detection, telemedicine, health data management, and real-time monitoring of public health programmes.